The Las Vegas-based business has entered the Lone Star State via an agreement with the recently established box lacrosse team.
Founded in 2020, the Texas franchise plays out of Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena and competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), having made its debut in the 2021-22 season.
Its agreement with PlayUp designates the sports betting brand as a Panther City founding partner, fantasy sport partner and esports partner.
Moreover, their deal includes a market access element. Should Texas legalise sports betting, PlayUp would have a clear path to what would likely be an especially lucrative market – though any launch would be subject to Panther City receiving regulatory approval.
“Texas is an evolving state in terms of sports betting, and should legalisation occur, we want to ensure we are positioned to maximise that opportunity,” said Dennis Drazin, PlayUp USA Chairman.
“We are excited by this partnership with Panther City as it gives PlayUp a great opportunity to grow our brand and connect directly with fans throughout the state.”
PlayUp has also secured certain promotional rights, which it will use to bolster brand awareness.
It will receive “prominent” logo placing on the team’s jersey and branding opportunities on the media banner backdrop and club’s website, as well as commercial opportunities during locally broadcast games.
Panther City fans will also be seeing more of the PlayUp logo during home games as their agreement includes in-stadium branding.
The team’s President and CEO Greg Bibb said: “We are thrilled to welcome PlayUp as a partner of Panther City Lacrosse Club.
“We look forward to introducing our fans to the PlayUp brand and we are proud to wear the PlayUp name on our game jersey.”